Surrender, the dog at the door
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
तुझे दारींचा कुतरा । नको मोकलूं दातारा ॥1॥
धरणें घेतलें घरांत । नको धरून उठवूं हात ॥ध्रु.॥
घेतली मुरकुंडी। थोर जालों मी लंडी ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे जगजीवना । िब्रदें पाहें नारायणा॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Let me be the dog at Your doorstep; do not drive me away, O generous Lord. I have taken shelter inside Your home; do not seize me by the hand and throw me out. I have curled up in submission, for I have become utterly meek. Says Tuka, O life of the world, look to Your own honor, O Narayana.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Let me be the dog at Your door; do not drive me off, generous Lord. I have taken shelter inside Your house; do not seize my hand and throw me out. I have curled up small in submission, for I have become utterly lowly. Tuka says: O life of the world, look to Your own honor, Narayana.
What it means
Tukaram takes the humblest place he can name, a dog at the threshold, and asks only not to be chased away. He has crept inside God's house and refuses to be evicted, having shrunk himself to nothing in surrender. There is no merit offered, only need and a claim on shelter. His last move is the same as elsewhere: he turns the burden onto God, reminding the Lord that His own reputation as protector is at stake in whether this wretch is kept.
Surrender and Acceptance
The conditions of spiritual receptivity and the letting go of the separate self.
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